The two young farmhands Jessica Larkin put to work Tuesday at Project SHARE’s new garden were no greenhorns when it comes to growing vegetables.

Dylan Donivan, 10, and his brother, Hunter 8, of Carlisle, have been helping at the new garden and high tunnel greenhouse beside Carlisle High School all summer.

View full sizeDylan Donivan, 10, of Carlisle, picks green beans in Project SHARE's new garden next to Carlisle High School.Barbara Miller

“I lifted these rocks,” Dylan proudly said, pointing to the rocks holding down the fencing around the garden bed beside the greenhouse. “Look – there’s a baby cantaloupe,” said Hunter. “And there’s a ladybug.”

They’re among the volunteers Larkin has enlisted to help plant, weed and care for the new garden, which will grow produce for the Project SHARE free farm stand, and maybe for regular food distribution and sale to local restaurants.

“Watch where you step – pretend it’s lava,” Larkin tells her young helpers, as they help trim cantaloupe vines growing over young lettuce. “This tells the plant it needs to grow fruit for us,” she adds.

Larkin said she hopes the students will come and help during the school year too. “I’m trying to develop it into an after-school program,” she said. Also this summer, student volunteers in the YouthWorks program helped Project SHARE in various ways this summer, including the garden.

The new garden replaces Buttonwood Farm, which was no longer available for Project SHARE to use.

The high tunnel was erected June 3 on land provided by Carlisle High School next to its parking lot. The school district also provided access to water and electricity, said Jessica Wallace, Project SHARE public relations and program director.

The $20,000-25,000 cost of the greenhouse was covered by grants from the Carlisle Army War College chaplaincy and Stuart Foundation, Wallace said.

Others in the community also played vital roles. Diakon Lutheran Social Services grew 520 tomato plants that were transplanted into the greenhouse and garden.

Siemens Corp. hooked up the electrical service free of charge, which provides the benefit of raising and lowering the greenhouse sides automatically as temperatures change. A volunteer added soaker hoses, and sometime in the future, they’re hoping to add an irrigation system.

Larkin has also been collaborating with Carlisle High School teachers and students. “We’re working in conjunction with their culinary program,” she said, and envisions supplying fresh vegetables and herbs for their cooking classes.

The outside garden was planted first, before the greenhouse was done. The first crops include green beans, tomatoes, parsley, lettuce, arugula, cantaloupes, squash, peppers, radishes, basil and more. Garlic will be added, along with cool weather crops like broccoli and cauliflower.

The biggest challenge has been the soil quality, Larkin said, since it had never been touched for farming. “It’s clay subsoil. We added mushroom soil and topsoil,” she said. They are growing organically, although the garden is not yet certified organic.

With the late start they got in the growing season, “I’m so grateful for these tomatoes, because by no means should they be producing,” she said.

Larkin grew up working on horse farms and those growing crops. She was a teaching assistant at Green Chimneys School for children with emotional and behavioral needs in New York, and locally worked at Lark Rise Farms in Loysville.

“Her resume was perfect for what we were looking for,” Wallace said.

In the past, the Project SHARE garden at Buttonwood Farm produced tomatoes sold to local restaurants like Pizza Grille and Back Door Café, said Elaine Livas, Project SHARE director. Proceeds went back into Project SHARE’s programs and buying food they can’t grow.

“It was a good way to get out name out in the community and show that recipients do help themselves,” she said.

Since Project SHARE gets a lot of donated produce from other peoples’ gardens in summer, Livas envisions the greenhouse being key in growing food in the off-season and in reviving the restaurant sales.

In keeping with Project SHARE’s goal of teaching clients how to help themselves and give back to the community, Livas said classes are held to teach how to cook fresh produce. Clients volunteer in the garden and in the food distribution program.

“Some see our mission as handing out food. What I’m trying to emphasize is it’s never been just about handing out food. If we don’t work with people show them what they have to offer and what they can do to help themselves, we’ll be handing out food forever,” Livas said.

The produce grown at the site is distributed at the Project SHARE farm stand at Pitt and Lincoln streets three days a week. The stand is open Tuesday, 10 a.m.-noon; Wednesday, 10-11:30 a.m.; and Thursday, 10 a.m.-noon and 3-4 p.m.

Project SHARE also has an active gleaning program, in which volunteers pick overabundant crops at area farms. To volunteer for these programs, call Project SHARE at 717-249-7773.

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